Sam Houston

Samuel "Sam" Houston (2 March 1793-26 July 1863) was President of the Republic of Texas from 1836 to 1838, succeeding David G. Burnet and preceding Mirabeau B. Lamar, and again from 1841 to 1844, succeeding Lamar and preceding Anson Jones. Houston, the former Governor of Tennessee was the leader of Texas during its fight for independence against Mexico, and he was the commander of the Texan forces at the decisive Battle of San Jacinto in 1836. Houston led Texas twice, and he would become the Governor of Texas after the United States annexed the republic (he governed the state from 1859 to 1861). The city of Houston, Texas is named for him.

American politician
Samuel Houston was born on 2 March 1793 in Rockbridge County, Virginia, United States to a family of Scots-Irish ancestry; his ancestors came to America from County Antrim in Northern Ireland in 1735. Houston ran away from home at the age of 16 due to his hatred for working at his brothers' store, and he lived among the Cherokee in Tennessee. Houston volunteered in the US Army during the War of 1812, serving under Andrew Jackson during the war with the Creeks; he was wounded three times at the Battle of Horseshoe Bend. In 1818, he became a lawyer in Nashville, and he was elected to the US House of Representatives in 1822. In 1827, he was elected Governor of Tennessee, but he resigned in 1829 due to rumors of alcoholism and infidelity; his wife ran off with another man.

Texan politician
In 1832, Houston was forced to flee Tennessee after attempting to murder congressman William Stanbery in a duel resulting from Stanbery's rivalry with Andrew Jackson, and he left for Texas in December. He became a supporter of the cause for Texan independence from Mexico, and he became the commander of a Texan militia that fought against the Mexican Army during the Texas Revolution of 1836. Houston's militia would ambush and destroy a Mexican army at San Jacinto, forcing Antonio Lopez de Santa Anna to surrender and agree to grant independence to Texas. Houston would twice serve as President of Texas, and he would support union with the United States in 1845. Houston served as Governor of Texas as well as Senator, only to be evicted from office for refusing to pledge allegiance to the Confederate States of America. He died in 1863.